Suspension seat and axle coupling

ABSTRACT

A suspension assembly is provided that includes a first suspension member such as a rear axle housing having first and second opposing sides. The housing includes spaced apart corners. First and second seats are respectively adjacent to the first and second opposing sides. Each of the seats has inwardly facing surfaces interconnected by an intermediate surface with the inwardly facing surfaces engaging the corners and the intermediate surface spaced from the side. The intermediate surface and inwardly facing surfaces of each seat form a continuous unbroken surface with the inwardly facing surfaces facing one another. A fastener such as a U-bolt or a pair of bolts secure the first and second seat about the first suspension member to secure a second suspension member to the first suspension member.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/139,989 filed on May 7, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a connection device for a suspension assembly, and more particularly, the invention relates to an improved suspension seat and axle arrangement for securing suspension components to an axle.

Suspension seats are used to clamp suspension components together such as for clamping suspension spring brackets to a rear axle housing. Typically, a pair of seats are arranged on either side of the housing and a U-bolt is used to secure and clamp the seats about the housing. The clamps frequently loosen over time, which may damage the axle housing and related suspension components unless the fasteners are tightened.

One solution to the above problem has been to weld the seats to the housing. However, welding is a rather expensive process and the weld may break. Another solution has been to utilize locating features between the seats and the axle housing to ensure that the axle and seats do not move relative to one another in the event that the clamps loosen. The locating features add cost to the suspension assembly and may require a weld or costly feature be added to the axle housing. Finally, a design has been proposed to concentrate the clamping forces in the corners of the axle housing to introduce compressive forces in the sides of the housing.

However, the seat assembly is rather expensive and utilizes five separate components to form the seat. Furthermore, the seat components engage the sides of the housing which tends to introduce clamping forces only in the vertical direction similar to the prior art. The lower seat had utilized angled surfaces that engage a pair of intermediate lower seat portions that are in contact with the corners and portions of sides of the housing. Therefore, what is needed is a more cost effective seat assembly that creates compressive forces in the vertical and horizontal sides of the housing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES

The invention relates to a suspension assembly including a first suspension member such as a rear axle housing having first and second opposing sides. The housing includes spaced apart corners. First and second seats are respectively adjacent to the first and second opposing sides. Each of the seats has inwardly facing surfaces interconnected by an intermediate surface with the inwardly facing surfaces engaging the corners and the intermediate surface spaced from the side. The intermediate surface and inwardly facing surfaces of each seat form a continuous unbroken surface with the inwardly facing surfaces facing one another. A fastener such as a U-bolt or a pair of bolts secure the first and second seat about the first suspension member to secure a second suspension member to the first suspension member.

Accordingly, the above invention provides a more cost effective seat assembly that creates compressive forces in the vertical and horizontal sides of the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the present invention can be understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention suspension assembly seats; and

FIG. 2 is another cross-sectional view of the present invention suspension assembly seats.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A suspension assembly 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The suspension assembly includes a first suspension member 12 that is preferably a generally quadrilateral longitudinal member such as an axle housing. The first suspension member 12 may include a pair of vertical and horizontal sides 14 with corners 16 interconnecting the sides 14. First and second seats 18 and 20 are arranged opposite one another adjacent opposing sides 14. A fastener assembly 24 is used to clamp the first and second seats 18 and 20 about the first suspension member 12 to secure a second suspension member 22 such as an attaching bracket for a suspension spring. The fastener assembly 24 may be a pair of bolts 26 and nuts 28 as shown in FIG. 1 or a U-bolt 30 and nuts 28 as shown in FIG. 2.

Typically, prior art seat assemblies introduce compressive forces in only the vertical sides of the axle. As a result, the seats are more susceptible to becoming loose over time. To address this, some prior art devices have utilized a multi-piece seat assembly to introduce compressive forces in the horizontal sides in addition to the vertical sides. However, the seat assembly does not isolate the clamping force to the corners of the axle housing so that virtually all of the compressive force is concentrated in the vertical sides as is the prior art. To this end, the present invention first and second seats 18 and 20 engage the corner 16 to introduce vertical V and horizontal H compressive forces in the sides 14 of the first suspension member 12.

The first and second seats 18 and 20 include inwardly facing surfaces 32 with an intermediate surface 34 interconnecting the inwardly facing surfaces 32 to form a continuous unbroken surface 36. That is, the first and second seats 18 and 20 each are a unitary structure that include a pair of inwardly facing surfaces 32 that face one another. The inwardly facing surfaces 32 engage the corners 16. For the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the corners may be defined by a flat, and the inwardly facing surfaces 32 may also be flat to better rotationally fix the first and second seats 18 and 20 relative to the first suspension member 12. The intermediate surface 34 is spaced from the side 14. A more conventional first suspension member 12 is shown in FIG. 2. The corners 16 of the first suspension member 12 each have a radius. The inwardly facing surfaces 32 may be of an angle that is more resistant to permitting relative movement of the first and second seats 18 and 20 relative to the first suspension member 12. It is to be understood, that the inwardly facing surfaces 32 and intermediate surface 34 may be of a shape other than those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology that has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. 

1. A suspension assembly comprising: a first suspension member having an octagonal cross-section providing first and second sets of opposing sides and flats interconnecting said first set of opposing sides to said second set of opposing sides; first and second seats engaging said flats; and a fastener assembly exerting a clamping force on said first and second seats thereby applying compressive forces to said first and second sets of opposing sides with said first and second seats.
 2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first and second sets of opposing sides provide four long sides and said flats provide four short sides, said four short sides shorter than said four long sides.
 3. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein said four short sides are at approximately a 45 degree angle relative to said four long sides.
 4. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first suspension member is an axle.
 5. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first and second seats are arranged respectively adjacent said first and second sets of opposing sides, each of said first and second seats having inwardly facing surfaces which are generally planar and interconnected by an intermediate surface, with said inwardly facing surfaces engaging said first and second flats and said intermediate surface spaced from said first and second sets of opposing sides.
 6. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said fastener assembly secures said first and second seats about said first suspension member to secure a second suspension member to said first suspension member.
 7. A suspension assembly comprising: an axle having an octagonal cross-section; a suspension member; and seats securing said suspension member to said axle. 